FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2009

Hot and sunny sucks when you've got to work. If I had my way it would rain every Friday that I have to sit at my desk. I like working when it's raining.This weekend I'll fling myself at the Highland Games and hope to answer...

Sgt. Kevin Locicero, left, and Capt. Bruce Elliot, of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department, examine a truck that drove into a pool in Lockport, N.Y., on Thursday. Police said the driver was juggling two cell phones.Top Cutlines:#1. The driver misheard the news on the radio....

It wasn’t what you might think that made Ray Smelek decide to bring Hewlett-Packard’s printer division to Boise in 1973, launching a high-tech industry in the Idaho capital city that transformed the city’s economy. “From a personal point of view … it seemed like a...

"Boise police investigators say new evidence suggests that an 8-year-old boy who has been missing for a week may have been the victim of a tragic event." http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/31/boise-police-missing-boy-may-be-victim-tragedy/I'm going to take off early and hug my nine-year-old before he leaves for a sleepover. If you've...

Thanks to the Clintons. It seems the Clintons left the Obamas a little something extra on the White House grounds--- gooey sludge. Is this any way to grow a garden? http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92869?fp=1

So, Firefox is supposed to hit it's one billionth dowload sometime today: http://www.pcworld.com/article/169384/firefox_to_hit_1_billion_downloads_friday.html?tk=rss_newsApparently, if I want to post the HBO Poll thingie while DFO's gone, I'm going to need Firefox. But I'm an Explorer gal. It's been good to me, and I don't know if...

"The Rosetta Stone of racial understanding," that's what Obama is, according to Jon Stewart. Stewart simulated the beer summit for those of us who weren't invited: http://www.indecisionforever.com/2009/07/31/jon-stewart-and-wyatt-cenac-simulate-the-white-house-beer-summit/

"The House voted Friday to rush $2 billion into the popular but financially strapped “cash for clunkers” car purchase program, heeding calls from consumers who hope to keep taking advantage of the trade-in incentives." http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/31/house-approves-2b-more-cash-clunkers/Thoughts?

Item: City won't name names on salaries/CdA PressMore info: Coeur d'Alene city officials are refusing to disclose the full identities of city employees, after an Idaho Public Records Act request from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan group that's in the process of developing...

"A Louisiana woman visiting the Coeur d’Alene Resort fell 12 stories to her death early Thursday in what the incident’s only witness, the victim’s boyfriend, told police was a suicide but detectives say is still under investigation." http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/31/woman-dies-in-12-story-fall-at-resort/How very sad.

"Americans spend more than 10 percent of their out-of-pocket health care dollars on alternative medicine, according to the first national estimate of such spending in more than a decade.Chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists and herbal remedies are commanding significant consumer dollars as people seek high-touch care...

Dog Eat Dawg owner Van Austin hands a plate of food to regular customer Davis Shutts, of Coeur d’Alene, from his mobile eatery on the corner of Seltice Way and Atlas Road in Coeur d’Alene on Thursday. Part of their proceeds are donated to the...

Garcia"Nearly 2,000 marijuana plants averaging 5 feet tall were uprooted from an irrigated cornfield north of Reardan, the Lincoln County sheriff said Thursday." http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/31/marijuana-plants-found-in-cornfield-near-reardan/Wonder what the corn tastes like?

Item: 5-year-old's stolen puppy shaved but safe/AP, The Spokesman-ReviewMore info: A 5-year-old girl was at a park in Chubbuck, Idaho with her 11-week-old Pomeranian puppy when a woman asked if she could hold the puppy - but once she got it, she fled. Little Sadie...

It was pretty close, but 36% of voters (28 votes) chose What the Huck as the name for Bent's new huckleberry beer. Twenty-eight percent of you (22 votes) liked Purple Gold best. And Mountain Brew edged out Hefleberry, by one vote for number three.

Item: Online program connects Idaho students, NASA/Betsy Z. Russell, S-RMore Info: Bright, advanced Idaho high school juniors can now compete to get into a new science and math online class and summer academy offered in partnership with NASA - in part by impressing a local...

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/30/teacher-history-reprimands-quits/You know, I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with a scenario in which snapping someone's bra is appropriate. Can't think of one. Can you?

From my office window I see the DoubleTree Hotel, two Diamond Parking Lots, Glen Dow Academy and a huge billboard that reads: "Kokanee: mmm...Tastes like glacial runoff" Is it just me? When I picture glacial runoff I see dirty melting snow. Bleh.What's the view from...

Well. That didn't last long. If you were hoping for the government's help to buy a new car, it looks like you're out of luck: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/30/officials-cash-clunkers-set-run-out-gas/Update: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/31/no-cash-for-clunkers/Surprised?

THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2009

Three things I learned at HBO yesterday:We need to keep Herb's daughter in our thoughts and prayers as she recovers from a serious car accident. Some folks here should open their own ad agency and specialize in beer promotion. And most of you bathe and...

Of course, I always knew that and now there's proof: http://www.smartercities.nrdc.org/cities/spokane-wa#city-category-gbThe Natural Resources Defense Council gives Spokane high marks in green building, air quality and other categories.Where's the smartest place you've ever lived?

Here’s a group that’s certainly not bashing U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick’s upcoming “economic blitz” during the congressional summer break (as is a GOP hopeful for his seat): Idaho businesses who are planning to participate. “Congressman Minnick’s ‘blitz’ is being received positively by my contractor members,”...

It looks like Johnny Depp and Tim Burton will team up to make "Dark Shadows," a movie based on the classic cult TV show: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-depp-burton-dark-shadows.htmlSounds like a natural collaboration to me. Depp's a nice guy. Remember when he cleaned the snow off that S-R correspondent's...